HIDE AND SEEK  BY PHOENIX E

Part Four

Epilogue

Damned headache.  His head was pounding like someone'd taken a sledgehammer to it. Several times.  What was that smell?  Antiseptic?  Definitely not an ocean breeze.

Wait a minute, everything smelled different, sounded different - he'd been on that damned island with Daniel - holding Daniel.  Where was  -

"Daniel!"

A firm, familiar hand on his shoulder, pressing him gently back into the mattress.  Bed.  He was lying on a bed.  Hospital bed from the smells and the sounds.  Probably exactly where he should be from the way the head and most of the rest of him was feeling.

Familiar voice, soothing him as much as the touch of the hand.

"Easy, Jack," Daniel told him softly. "I'm here.  We're back at the SGC.  Everyone.  Sam and Teal'c too.  Everyone's safe. We're all fine.  You can take it easy and just rest."

Taking it easy sounded like a plan.  His head didn't like him sitting up so quickly.  Jack decided he wasn't going to try opening his eyes until said head stopped rolling over in circles.  He'd just lie back here, let his head settle and enjoy the feeling of that warm, welcome hand carefully stroking his shoulder.  He liked the way it felt.  It was a nice feeling to wake up to.  But as for that 'resting' part.

Not quite yet.

"How long…"  It was all he could get out.  His voice sounded rusty, like it hadn't been used in years.  His mouth was dry, his tongue so parched he couldn't get it to work right.

Daniel's hand, under his head, lifting it up, just a little, so gently.  Not hurting him at all as he moved it. One of those plastic straw thingees brushing against his lips. He could do this. Water, cold, incredibly refreshing.  Just what he needed.  Exactly what he needed.  He didn't even have to ask.  But that was the way it kinda always worked with Daniel.  He just knew.

Daniel always knew about the stuff that was important to Jack.  The details.  The little things that greased the wheel, made things run smoother, stuff Jack didn't want to have to ask about, ask for, or think about.  Those sorts of details Daniel always seemed to pick up on, and was more than willing to fill in and supply.  Without ever being asked to, looked to or required to.  He just did it.

Daniel knew everything about him, knew him inside and out, knew him better than any other living soul, knew the stuff he'd told him, somehow knew about stuff he'd never gotten around to saying, even.  But the most important detail of all, what all those accumulated odds and ends of intimate understanding, the sum of all the little parts, what all it added up to - Daniel hadn't known that one.  Any more than Jack had been consciously aware of it until it had burst upon him unsuspected out there on that cliff, a wondrous little secret he'd buried deep inside, hidden so well from both of them they'd neither of them had a clue it was there.

It wasn't a secret anymore. It was out.  Said and admitted by both of them to each other.  Confessed by each of them in a moment of duress and danger, when they were both out of their 'right' minds for entirely different reasons.  The moment had passed, the danger was over, and they'd both made it back safe.

So now the burning question was - what happened next?  What did he want to have happen next?  What did Daniel want?  Jack knew he couldn't exactly boast of having the greatest track record in the world for standing and dealing, but one thing he'd never done in his life was back away from something once he'd finally faced it.  The stuff that really mattered, you didn't say it if you didn't really mean it.  Or if you weren't prepared to put your money where your mouth was for having said it.

He hadn't just said what he'd said out there to try and coax Daniel back from the edge.  It hadn't been simply a matter of doing what he had to do to get the job done, saying what Daniel wanted to hear because that's what the situation had required him to do.  Those words hadn't been some cheap, situational declaration he intended to deny, call back and try and squirm out of with a 'well, desperate times call for desperate measures' cop-out disclaimer.  That would be a pretty crappy thing to do to anyone.  An unthinkable thing to do to Daniel.  And to himself.

The hell of it was Daniel would let him do it.  Letting Jack deny and run just might be Daniel's plan.  'I was nuts and you were just trying to help.  No problem, Jack, I understand.'  Off the hook, clean as a whistle.

Funny thing was, the more Jack thought about it, the more he didn't want to be excused or offered such a convenient out. Or any bail-out options at all.  Realising he was in love with Daniel had been a hell of a shock the instant it had happened, but once he'd gotten over the actual discovery hump, he wasn't having any problems with either the concept or the reality.  Actually, it was kind of a relief, in a strange sort of way.  It explained a lot about some of the thoughts he'd been having, the way he'd been - well, it explained a lot.  Put his mind at ease. He wasn't getting weird in his old age; he was in love with Daniel.

Hell, he could have done a lot worse!  Lord knows Daniel could do a lot better!  So, that was settled.  He wasn't sorry and he wasn't about to make out like this had never happened and if he just turned his back and ignored it, it would go away.  All he had to find out now was how Daniel wanted to play it.  Daniel had known sooner, had been living with knowing but accepting he could never have what he wanted.  Since way before Sha'uri's death and what he'd inadvertently picked up as a result of it started complicating things.  Hell of a long time to want without hope.  Almost as bad as waiting without hope. Either way, Daniel'd had a crappy time.  And been pretty much screwed for not being able to be.  Ever.

Since he'd already had way too much practice with the whole 'I can't have it there's no point making myself miserable over it' schtick, it wouldn't be a stretch to figure Daniel might be aiming for continuing to head on down the denial highway.  Putting on the old hair shirt for his good buddy Jack's sake.  So Jack wouldn't have to deal with uncomfortable trivialities like having his best friend complicating his life by being in love with him.

That sucked.  No way he was going to let Daniel do that to himself.  Daniel wanted him, he was damned well going to have him.  So there!  Hey, he could be selfless too.  The fact he couldn't shake the mental image of Daniel, half-naked and burning with desire for him, touching himself while begging Jack to touch him had nothing to do with it.

Crap, even he didn't buy that one!

"How long I been out of it?"  he asked Daniel again once he'd had enough water and Daniel had gently laid his head back down on the pillow.

"You've been drifting in and out ever since we brought you back," Daniel returned softly, his voice a little on the absent side, his gaze sliding just slightly off centre so while he seemed to be looking right at Jack, they weren't really making eye contact.  With him, but not.  Crap, it was going to be like this, was it?  Daniel's eyes and voice said full blown 'Operation Evasion' was in full effect, but his effort to deny his desire was being seriously undermined by the hand unconsciously, very tenderly stroking the head of the man not buying one word of what he was selling.

Cancel your plans for the road trip, Daniel.  You're not going anywhere without me.

"The last twelve hours or so," Daniel finished, flushing slightly and shifting in his seat.  "You have a concussion.  For starters."

"Trust me, I've had worse," Jack grinned at him.  Daniel's eyes momentarily darted back toward him, and he tried to smile.  "How you doing, Daniel?"

"Fine," Daniel said woodenly, breaking the tenuous eye contact by shifting his gaze just slightly to the right again.  Such a subtle movement, but it spoke volumes to the man seeing it.

You're about to tell me a lie, Dannyboy.

"Sorry about kicking you around in the jungle back there," Daniel grinned ruefully, his colour deepening with every word coming out of his mouth.  "You know I never would have - whatever was in that stuff I drank - Janet was saying something about my brain chemistry being out of whack and inhibition inhibiting and hallucinogenic effects and a bunch of other stuff I really wasn't listening to.  It's worked its way out of my system and apparently hasn't had any lasting effects or done any damage other than make me blank out on whatever happened after I started carrying you out of the jungle."

Lying to me, Danny.  You just told Jack a whopper.

Daniel mustered a weak, insincere smile and shifted his eyes even further to the right.  "So, other than having a few cuts and scrapes I don't know how I came by - " the hand on his head, the one with the slit on the palm, stopped, trembled for an instant and then resumed its tender ministrations - "I'm right as rain."

No problems, no worries, Jack.  I don't remember a thing.  We can both go on like nothing happened out there.  Like the words were never spoken. Best buds, and never, ever anything more, forever and ever, amen.

"So everything that happened once Plant Boy took his best shot…?"

Daniel winced.  "I'm - I'm really sorry about that, Jack.  But yeah, once I climbed down out of the tree, it's all pretty much gone."

"Hell, don't be sorry," Jack reached over and patted him on the arm.  "It wasn't your fault. Maybe you should get juiced up more often.  You had some pretty good moves out there.  I was seriously impressed."

"When you weren't contemplating killing me," Daniel smiled again, this time with a little more conviction as he started to relax, no doubt convinced Jack was buying his story of convenient amnesia.

"Okay," Jack let his smile grow wide and unthreatening.  Relax, Daniel, your good friend Jack is buying every word.  Totally fooled here.  "There were a few moments when I had one or two unkind thoughts."

"One or two?"  Daniel smiled skeptically. His blue eyes were getting warmer, shifting back.  The hand on his head was openly fondling now.  Playing with his hair, brushing it back from his brow.  Caressing.  Daniel didn't even know he was doing it.

"Okay, several.  Hell of a right cross you've got."

Daniel frowned and hunched his shoulders a bit.  "If you say so."

"That thing with the vine - where'd you learn to do that?"

Openly blushing now and looking a little proud of himself.  "It - it's nothing.  Just something I used to do when I was a kid."

"How about the sneaking up on me. Never even heard you coming."

"Just got lucky."

"Don't sell yourself short," Jack said sincerely.  "If it wasn't for you fighting her off, I'd be dead right now. It took a lot of guts to stop her from choking the life out of me."

"I couldn't let her kill you - " Daniel started and then choked off in mid-sentence.  The stroking hand froze, the colour abruptly drained from Daniel's face as he turned furious eyes on the smugly smiling man lying on the bed beside him.

"You bastard!" Daniel seethed, starting to pull away.  "You tricked me!"

"Yes, Danny, I did," Jack told him gently as he reached over and touched him on the arm, instantly arresting Daniel's impulse to bolt.  "You didn't leave me any other choice.  You were trying to play this like nothing happened out there, and that's not what I want. Not the way I want things to be between us."

"Oh?"  Daniel said in a barely audible voice, his jaw set, his eyes hard and staring out over the top of Jack's head.  He wasn't pulling away but Jack could feel him trembling with desperate, fearful tension.  Caught between needing to hear what he wanted to hear and fearing he wouldn't.  "How do you want things to be between us, Jack?"

"I meant what I said to you out there.  I know you remember.  So do I.  I meant it.  Did you?"

"Yes," Daniel answered faintly.

"Are you sorry?"  Jack asked him carefully.

"Are you?"  Daniel replied warily.

"I asked first!"

Daniel scowled at him before replying.  "Not for what I feel.  Never that.  But maybe, for saying.  If - " he glanced at Jack anxiously "If - "

"If it was something I didn't want to hear. If by some chance I was a dumb-ass who couldn't deal with being in love with his best friend," Jack soothed, starting to gently stroke Daniel's arm.  "Well, I am a dumb-ass for not figuring it out sooner, but not that much of a dumb-ass. The words were said and we both meant them.  It's kinda unrealistic to think we can go on from here as if it never happened.  We can make ourselves miserable trying, or we can have the guts to put our money where our mouths are.  Put up or shut up. Make the best of a bad situation.  Stop crying over spilt milk.  You can jump in here and just stop me, any time. I keep coming up with any more inappropriate clichés I'm gonna have you convinced I'm looking on this like it's something bad instead of the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me."

Daniel heaved a huge sigh and then turned and finally focussed on Jack.  His eyes were soft with fond understanding as he took Jack's hand and pressed it to his heart.  "You always were a smooth talker," he smiled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hammond's convinced we're holding out on him, you know," Jack called out to the man busying himself with the refreshments in the kitchen.  He grimaced as he leaned back against the couch and tried to get more comfortable.  Three days in the infirmary under Janet Fraiser's watchful eye had only slightly lowered the 'ouch' factor currently involved in existing while doing everything to significantly elevate the anxiety factor in other parts of his anatomy.  Basically, he was still hurting all over and while all of his aches had been Daniel-inflicted only some of them had anything to do with being thumped. Some of it, but definitely not all of it.  Especially now that he was finally sprung from the infirmary and home again, and the cause of his 'anxiety' was currently only a few tantalising feet away.

"That's because we are, Jack," Daniel replied reasonably from the kitchen.  "Thanks for backing me up, by the way."

"Listen, I'm still not exactly sure what happened out there, but one thing I do know, it's over.  I didn't see any reason for anyone else but the two of us to know every stinking detail of what went down on that mountain.  We can't explain it, we sure can't prove it, and you don't need any more grief from Doc McKenzie. Whatever the hell it was you had in you, Boogie's stuff got rid of it.  End of story. You're yourself again. As far as anyone else needs to know you drank some bug juice, took a few rounds out of me, sobered up, the natives let us all go home.  It was all part of some weird-ass ritual we got caught up in before we realised what was happening.  No harm done."

"Tell that to your head.  And your ribs.  And your knees," Daniel added ruefully.

"Okay, okay," Jack chuckled, gingerly fingering the stitches bisecting his right eyebrow.  "So I got a few bruises, a couple of stitches and am probably going to have a nifty scar to show for it.  For what else I got out of it," he continued, grinning at Daniel as he walked toward him bearing two hot, steaming mugs, "I'm thinking it was definitely worth a bruise or two.  Or several."

"Oh?"  Daniel quirked a tentative smile at him as he settled himself on the other end of the couch and handed one of the mugs to Jack.  "And what would that be?"

Jack frowned at the mug in his hand.  "This doesn't look like a beer," he said accusingly to Daniel.  "I distinctly remember asking for a beer."

Daniel grinned into his coffee before taking a healthy, appreciative sip.  "That's funny, I distinctly remember hearing Janet say no alcohol for you until you'd finished your meds."

"You sure pick damned inconvenient moments to do what you're told," Jack sulked before taking a theatrical slurp of his own coffee.

"Nothing 'convenient' about it at all," Daniel returned tartly.  "If you think it's fun having to listen to a thwarted, sulking, whining and complaining Jack O'Neill - "

"Nobody's sitting on you holding you down making you," Jack retorted in mock indignation.

"You're right," Daniel peered narrowly at him over the rim of his coffee cup.  "I don't have to listen to this.  I should just shut you up right now."

"Ya think?" Jack taunted, setting down his coffee cup.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do," Daniel said emphatically, placing his own cup down on the coffee table with a bit of a flourish.  "What's more I have some very specific ideas as to how to proceed."

"Gowan, shut me up.  I dare you," Jack sighed as he leaned slightly back against the couch and waited.

"You're going down, Colonel," Daniel leered as he began to move across the couch toward the man eagerly awaiting his advance.

"Oh, I'll be getting to that sooner or later, I'm sure," Jack murmured mere instants before Daniel's cool, soft lips pressed gently against his.

Jack had spent a lot of time thinking about this moment over the past few days, fantasising and obsessing to the point of continual, painful frustration.  As much as he wanted it and knew he was going to enjoy it he still wasn't fully prepared for how good it felt to have Daniel finally, FINALLY kissing him.  With everything he had, which was considerable.

No sweet, tentative fumbling here, Daniel was going at him with a passionate gusto bordering on desperation.  A heady mixture of 'I can't believe I'm actually doing this' liberally laced with 'oh God, I came so close to never being able to do this', with just a smidgen of 'I never, ever want to stop doing this' mixed in for good measure.  Jack just laid back and drank it all in, thoroughly agreeing with every fervent, nuzzle, lick and caress while getting in a few like-minded licks and bites of his own.

"You never answered my question," Daniel groaned into Jack's ear before licking his way back to his mouth again.

"Whaaaa?" Jack gasped as Daniel's tongue rimmed his mouth before plunging deeply within and sending shocks of pleasure through Jack's entire body.

It was several noisy, pleasurable seconds before Daniel disengaged long enough to throatily mutter, "What was worth getting a few bruises for."

"I gotta explain it you haven't been paying attention," Jack growled as he grabbed the back of Daniel's head and pulled his mouth back down to his.

"OW!"  An involuntary exclamation of pain wrenched out of him as Daniel, quite carried away with his enthusiasm pressed a little heavily against Jack's aching side.  The one that'd had a close encounter with a rock and had subsequently needed four stitches.

"Jack!"  Daniel cried out, horrified, wrenching himself up and away from Jack's body.  "God, I'm sorry!  Janet said you were supposed to take it easy!  Nothing strenuous!  God, what was I thinking, you're not up for this!"

"Oh, I beg to differ," Jack grimaced and rubbed his hand against his aching, straining crotch. "I might have to take a raincheque on the trapeze and the rubber chicken but I'm definitely up for some completely basic and uncomplicated groping, fondling and rubbing."

"That's possibly more information than I really needed in the early stages of our physical relationship," Daniel shook his head and grinned as he stood up, "but the final three items on your list are definitely doable.  Once we get you upstairs, in bed and a little more comfortable."  He held out his hand to the man lying on the couch.  "I promise to be gentle."

"I was only kidding about the rubber chicken," Jack teased as with Daniel's help he slowly, and admittedly painfully got up off the couch.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack was in his bed.  Comfortably laid out and naked in his bed.  While there was nothing unusual or noteworthy in that occurrence, certainly not lately, what was definitely different this time around was he wasn't alone.  Alone in the bed, yes, but not alone in the room.  Daniel was in his room.  Daniel wasn't in the bed yet, and neither was he naked.  However, the way he was getting that way while he was watching Jack watching him get naked…

If Jack had thought watching a drugged out Daniel touching himself on that mountain was a turn on what a Daniel in full possession of all his faculties, in his bedroom and doing to himself what he was doing right now was doing to him...   Jack just hoped he was going to be able to hold out long enough for Daniel to actually make it into the bed.

Jack's throat contracted with longing as Daniel slowly, sensuously unbuttoned his shirt, sliding the material across his chest teasingly before letting go of it and allowing it to slide off his shoulders and down his arms to flutter unheeded to the floor.  Jack quelled a little quiver of dismay as he saw the newly revealed skin of Daniel's torso still bore some healing testaments to his own ordeal.  They both had a few marks, and might yet have some scars to go with them.  But at least they were still here, and still very much alive.  That's all that mattered.

Daniel slowly ran his tongue across his lower lip and shivered as he lightly rotated his palms across the hardening surface of his nipples.  Grazing, barely touching, teasing himself, teasing the man watching him with hungry eyes, aching fingers and an erection so hard he could hammer nails with it.

"Oh, God, Daniel, you're KILLING me, here!"  Jack groaned.

Daniel's eyes were dancing with lust and excitement.  "Do you want to see more, Jack?" he breathed as he began to move his hands slowly down his chest, traversing his abdomen with deliberate, arousing movements, sliding them closer to the waistband of his pants.

"Uh huh," Jack gurgled helplessly, his eyes riveted to Daniel's hands as he carefully, painstakingly began to unfasten his belt.

"Don't!" Daniel warned as Jack's twitching, straining right hand began to move toward his equally twitching and impatient erection.  Daniel's pants were undone now, his hands slipping down, inside, beneath.  "You're not supposed to exert yourself. Let me do it."

"Ah, any idea when that would be, exactly?"  Jack croaked desperately.  "Not that I want to rush you or anything, but I'm not made of stone here."

"I promise you it'll be worth the wait," Daniel smiled enigmatically as he slipped both pants and briefs off his hips and down his long legs in one fluid, erotic motion that just about undid all Jack's efforts not to become undone all over himself.

"Oh God!"  Jack groaned again as Daniel kicked aside his last articles of clothing and stood before him in all his revealed and completely rampant glory.  Smiling as he began to walk toward the quivering, nearly crazed man in the bed watching his slow glide toward him through a dizzying haze of impatient, exquisite arousal.

Daniel was gently carding his fingers through his pubic hair, stroking his long fingers all around, but not touching.  Not yet.  He waited until he'd reached the bed and had carefully straddled Jack's legs before finally taking his own erection in his hand while slowly lowering himself until his scrotum was gliding along the length of Jack's entirely engorged and just about ready to burst groin.

Oh God, it was too much.  He was going to go.  Jack gritted his teeth and grabbed the back of Daniel's thighs, holding on for dear life as Daniel reached down and touched him for the first time.  Jack cried out and threw his head back into the pillow, pinioned by the spectacle of Daniel beginning to stroke himself in time to the firm, exquisite action his own equipment was getting.  He gripped Daniel's legs more firmly, his hips starting to rock in frantic resonance to the rhythmic, relentless pumping.  Daniel was gasping, his other hand working faster, his body undulating with his growing excitement.

"Daniel!"  Jack screamed as his orgasm spurted through him, from him, shooting his senses in all different directions as the resulting tide of pleasure all but overwhelmed his awareness.  As he hovered between somewhat still sentient and completely pleasured stupid he saw Daniel's back arching in an echoing bow of ecstasy, heard his 'Jack' shatter the air and felt happily assured a good time was most definitely had by all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"God, Jack," Daniel groaned.  "Aren't you tired yet?"

"What's with you kids these days?"  Jack grumbled good-naturedly as he ran an affectionate hand down Daniel's back.  "No staying power."

"I'm not that much younger than you are, and in case I need to remind you, I've been the one doing all the work."

"Doctor's orders," Jack grinned.  "Not supposed to exert myself, remember?  Your fault.  You're the one who insisted we play by the rules."

"You picked a fine time not to argue with me," Daniel replied fondly as he played with Jack's chest hair.  "So, what do you want now?"

"I got a couple more owies you haven't kissed better yet," Jack informed him.

Daniel raised his head from Jack's chest and affixed him with a lock of mock horror.  "We can't have that!"

"Damned straight!  Make with the lips, already!"

Daniel didn't move.  He stayed where he was, looking down at Jack with a light in his eyes making him want to kiss him right there and then.

So he did.

The kiss was long, languid and lingering, but at last Daniel pulled his mouth away.

"I know I said I was sorry for bashing you about but did I also tell you how much - thank you for fighting for me?  For not letting go?"

"Only about seven or eight times already, but I'm more than willing to let you make it up to me for as long as you want to."

"How does the next twenty years sound?"  Daniel kissed him lightly.

"It'll do for starters," Jack returned, cupping the back of his head, pulling Daniel back down to him again.  "But I warn you, I've got an awfully long memory.  Twenty years might not be enough.  I might need more."

"How much more?"  Daniel whispered against his lips.

"All the time you've got," Jack whispered back.

"Deal," Daniel smiled as he gave himself over to the kiss.

FINIS

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